


truth so loud you can't ignore

by somehowunbroken



Category: Men's Hockey RPF
Genre: Fluff and Humor, Getting Together, M/M, Miscommunication, Multi, Oblivious, Polyamory
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-29
Updated: 2019-06-29
Packaged: 2020-05-07 14:26:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,493
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19211287
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/somehowunbroken/pseuds/somehowunbroken
Summary: Tyson knows, okay. Heknowsthat he's got, like, twice the amount of feelings inside him than is normal. He's not completely ignorant, thanks, and despite what Kerfy says, he's handling it all super well.Or, like.[or: JT thinks Tyson's dating Dante. Dante thinks Tyson's dating JT. Tyson thinks both of the guys of his dreams are out of his reach.]





	truth so loud you can't ignore

**Author's Note:**

  * For [taxingme](https://archiveofourown.org/users/taxingme/gifts).



> -hi, taxingme! your dear author letter was an inspiration, and i thoroughly enjoyed wriitng these three for you. i hope you enjoy it :D
> 
> -thanks to mags and deja for reading this through for me <3
> 
> -title is from troye sivan's "[youth](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYAghEq5Lfw)," because that whole song is this whole fic. spiritually. somehow.

Tyson knows, okay. He _knows_ that he's got, like, twice the amount of feelings inside him than is normal. He's not completely ignorant, thanks, and despite what Kerfy says, he's handling it all super well.

Or, like.

"Hey," JT says, dropping down to the sofa. Tyson's not doing anything, just dicking around on his phone, considering what he's gonna snap to Dante to keep their streak going, but for whatever reason he turns his phone so JT can't see the screen. JT just raises an eyebrow at him. "What, did someone send you nudes?"

"No," Tyson says, rolling his eyes. "I'm gonna snap Dante, and you don't need to be part of that."

JT's eyebrow goes higher. "Are you snapping Dante _your_ nudes?"

"What the fuck," Tyson yelps, dropping his phone. He hasn't even taken a photo yet, and when JT glances over, he starts laughing when he sees the camera up, half of Tyson's knee and the ceiling beyond it. "Why would I send Dante nudes?"

JT waggles his eyebrows. "Why wouldn't you?"

"Uh," Tyson says, bewildered. "No, I asked first."

"Right," JT says, and he sounds amused but there's something weird in his expression, like his mouth is smiling but his eyes didn't get the invitation to the party. "Just snap him whatever, dude. The coffee table's as good as anything, right, and it's better than your face."

"Rude," Tyson says indignantly, but JT's laughing again, slouched against the back of the sofa, his eyes crinkled up. Late arrivals to the face party, maybe. He snaps a photo of the side of JT's face, smile crooked and off-center, and sends it without adding a comment, because JT reaches out to swipe his phone away and Tyson doesn't want to lose his opportunity.

He's not, like, totally sure what the opportunity is, but he's still not interested in letting it slip away.

"Did you just snap me to Dante?" JT demands, still smiling but that weird thing happening with his eyes again.

"Yeah, it'll make my face look great by comparison," Tyson says, switching to take a selfie—decent; not an award winner, but good enough—and sending it with three thumbs-up emojis.

JT rolls his eyes. "You're the worst, you know that?"

"You've mentioned it a few times, but I think you're lying," Tyson says matter-of-factly. "I think you think I'm the best, and you're just too afraid to tell me."

There's no real way for Tyson to decipher whatever's happening with JT's face now, because it goes through a lot of little changes in a few seconds before settling on fully bored as he rolls his eyes again. "Right," he says, voice dry. "I'm in love with you, Josty. Totally and completely head over heels. You caught me."

Tyson laughs. "Right, right," he says, playing along, pretending his heart didn't just do some sort of bat flip in his chest. JT's joking, and Tyson's feelings are—irrelevant, or something like it. "My bad, man. I should've known."

"You should've," JT says, and he's not looking at Tyson as he says it but he does knock their knees together, so that's—something, Tyson thinks. Normal, or close enough to it.

His phone buzzes when Dante snaps him back, a photo of him trying not to smile as he raises his eyebrows, _cute pic of ur bae_ right at the top.

 _excuse u where's the love for that awesome pic of me,_ he sends back when Dante doesn't send a follow-up.

He gets three of the laughing-crying emoji in response, so he snaps a photo of his middle finger and sends that.

Good enough.

-0-

"Hey," Dante says. Tyson only knows it's him because he knows Dante's voice. He can't actually see Dante; apparently he'd FaceTimed Tyson and put his phone down on something, because Tyson's got a pretty ace view of the ceiling in Dante's dorm room and nothing else at all. Whatever, Tyson can deal; he likes talking to Dante, even if he's maybe actually talking to Dante's ceiling. It's close enough.

"Hey," Tyson replies. "'Sup, buddy?"

There's a sigh, and Tyson glimpses a little bit of Dante's hair before he moves again and the ceiling is back. "I dunno. Got a lot on my mind."

"Like what?" Tyson asks, trying to sound encouraging. "I'm here, man. I'm kind of the worst at helping people with their problems, but I can listen like a champ."

Dante snorts, and he finally picks up his phone. He looks—kind of exhausted, Tyson thinks, and it's probably the whole "getting a college degree while playing NCAA hockey and debating a pro career" thing. Just because Tyson went pro early doesn't mean he doesn't remember the almost unbearable grind of it all. "I'm tired," Dante says.

"Yeah," Tyson says sympathetically. "Can you, like, nap? I can go. We can—"

"Nah," Dante cuts in, and it's a casual word but not a casual tone at all. "I'm also stressed, and talking helps with the stress. Which will probably make it easier to sleep, so, like. Stay on the call."

"I can do that," Tyson promises. "What's stressful? Class? Hockey?"

Dante rolls his eyes. "Yes," he says, and Tyson snorts. "Like, I don't know, man. Do I sign when my season's up, or do I stay and finish my degree next year and then just become a free agent?"

It's not really a decision Tyson ever felt like he needed to make; he'd been drafted by the Avs, and when he got the call, he went. He's not sure he has any advice to offer, but Dante had asked, and Tyson doesn't know if he's capable of not trying to help Dante, trying to make things better for him in some way. "I mean, both are good options," he says slowly. "I know your degree is important to you, man, so it makes sense for you to do that and go be a free agent if you don't want to sign right this second."

Dante perks up a little. "Yeah?"

"I mean, you'd have all these options," Tyson says. "You wouldn't have to go to Nashville if you wanted to go somewhere else."

"Somewhere else," Dante repeats. There's a hint of a grin on his face. "Like where? Colorado?"

Tyson laughs. "That'd be sick," he agrees, trying not to let his face show how much he'd love that, because he'd like to at least pretend he's got some chill. "Man, could you imagine? You could take Biggy's old room. Roommates!"

"Roommates," Dante agrees. The grin is still in place, but his voice sounds a little off. "With you and Kerfy and Compher."

"Yeah," Tyson says, grinning. "Problem solved, dude. I'm so helpful. Do me a favour and tell JT that, okay? He's constantly telling me how annoying I am."

Dante laughs a little. "That's not nice."

"Ugh, I know," Tyson says feelingly. "He's super mean. I don't even know why I put up with him."

"I mean," Dante says, and now he looks kind of worried. "If he's mean to you..."

"No, he's fine," Tyson says, shaking his head. "Like, he's an asshole, but he's kind of an asshole to everyone? And he's mostly less of an asshole to me, so it's all good."

"Okay," Dante says. He still doesn't look thrilled, and Tyson isn't sure why. "I mean, as long as it's all good with you."

"It's all good with me," Tyson assures him, smiling brightly. "So do you want to come be our fourth roommate? Kerfy makes this great curried cauliflower."

"That's the selling point you're going with?" Dante asks, raising an eyebrow. "Curried cauliflower?"

"It's good," Tyson protests. "And, like, JT will fold your laundry if you ask him really nicely."

Dante snorts. "I'm not asking Compher to do my laundry for me, Tys. I think that might be a you-specific thing anyway."

"I mean, that's only because Kerfy doesn't ask," Tyson says, shrugging. "You could ask."

"I think I'm good," Dante says, rolling his eyes hard. "But, like. You'd be cool with that? Me maybe signing with the Avs?"

"It would be awesome," Tyson says, and he feels how big his smile is. "Like, having you here all the time? Sick. We'd kill it."

It's not hard to imagine, either: Dante in burgundy and blue, skating hard up the ice, feeding sweet passes for Tyson to bury behind whatever poor goalie's in net against them that night. It's the kind of thing Tyson doesn't like daydreaming about too much, like him and JT being on a line together for keeps, because it's not likely to happen and reality kind of sucks when it sets back in. Right now, though, daydreaming about it is kind of the point, so he lets himself do it, just for a minute.

"We'd be sick," he says when they've been quiet together for a while. He tries to draw all his daydreams back in, though, because him wanting something so badly he can taste it doesn't necessarily mean he gets to ask other people for whatever it is. "But, like."

Dante's face does something weird before he coughs. "But what?"

"You should, like, do what's best for you," Tyson says. He wants Dante here, of course he does, but he's pretty sure that makes him super selfish. "It would be awesome having you here, man, but don't come here just for me. You gotta think about your career, y'know?"

Dante sort of… wilts, Tyson guesses. "Yeah," he mumbles, glancing away from the phone. "That, uh. That makes sense. And you're already living with JT, so…"

"And Kerfy," Tyson reminds him. "And we'd love having you here, dude, don't get me wrong, but—"

"Yeah, no, no," Dante says, and Tyson can totally tell that he's getting Dante's fakest smile, but he has no clue what he said or did or how to fix it. "You know what, though, I should probably go. Studying and stuff."

"Right," Tyson agrees. he's trying really hard not to frown. "Dante—"

"I'll talk to you later," Dante says, and it sounds firm but also like he means it, so Tyson nods and ends the call.

"What the fuck," he says, glaring at his phone like it's going to answer him.

It doesn't. Stupid phone.

-0-

Dante signs with the Preds, and Tyson—

He knows having Dante here was this, like, stupid pipe dream or whatever, and that the Preds are a great fit for him, but it still sort of hurts. They'd had that conversation, and then Dante hadn't brought it up again after that, and Tyson doesn't need to be involved in his decision-making process or whatever, but he sort of thought he would be anyway.

It's… whatever, Tyson guesses. Dante's his division rival now. Maybe it'll be fun.

"What's with the face?" JT asks, nudging Tyson's foot with his foot. "Don't make that face at your phone. You'll crack the screen."

Tyson flips him off and feels how halfhearted it seems. "Trying to figure out what to post," he says. "Dante signed."

"Oh," JT says, sitting down next to Tyson. "I'm… sorry?"

Tyson looks up at him and frowns. "What? Why?"

JT blinks at him. "I figured you'd want him to come here," he says cautiously.

"I offered him Biggy's room," Tyson says, smiling for a second before letting it slip off his face. "I mean, he had to do what was best for him, right? And me wanting him to stay at BU for another year just so we could play together again would make me selfish. I'm happy for him."

"You're, like," JT says. His face is doing a thing, and Tyson tries not to think too hard about how it always seems to be doing a thing around him lately. "You're allowed to be upset, dude."

Tyson shrugs a shoulder. "But I'm happy for him," he says, and he is. The feeling is kind of at war with how disappointed he is, but that doesn't mean it's not there. "Can I get away with another joke about the draft hat?"

"You didn't even really get away with the first one," JT says, rolling his eyes. "Be original, dude."

"Whatever," Tyson says. He debates it for half a second, then decides that tipping into JT is totally acceptable right now. "Hold me while I figure out what to write."

"You're impossible," JT says, but he adjusts Tyson so they're both comfortable, more or less, and Tyson doesn't hesitate to curl into him a little more. JT's solid beneath Tyson's head, and he's warm and he's here, and maybe Tyson can't get everything he wants, but he can at least get a nice pity cuddle. He's gonna take it.

JT sighs when Tyson looks back to his phone, but he keeps his arm wrapped around Tyson's shoulders, so. Good enough.

-0-

"Congrats, dude," Dante says, and his smile is so wide that it makes something in Tyson ache, even though he knows he's happy in the moment. "Playoffs, baby!"

"Playoffs," Tyson says, knowing he sounds satisfied and not really caring. "We made it. We're going again."

"You're gonna crush it," Dante says, voice full of confidence. "Like, holy shit, dude. I do not want to defend against MacKinnon."

Tyson laughs. "Rough news for you, buddy."

"Yeah, yeah," Dante says, waving a hand at him. "I'll manage it. We'll play each other in the conference finals and then I'll figure my shit out."

"Figure it out in Game 4 as we sweep you," Tyson says cheerily. He laughs when Dante scowls at him. "There's always next year, right?"

"For you, too," Dante says, and Tyson laughs because it's true, because Dante might not be here with Tyson but he's here in the NHL. They both made it, and they've got this year and next year and a bunch more after that, and Tyson's living so much of his dream right now.

Not—not all of it, because his heart keeps beating too fast in his chest as his mouth goes dry when Dante smiles at him, but that's not news, and it's nothing he can't handle.

-0-

The playoffs are insane in a way Tyson doesn't remember feeling last year, high energy and fast-paced, and he doesn't score but JT does, the rest of the guys do, and Tyson slams into the writhing collection of teammates along the boards when the final buzzer goes off in Calgary, laughing his ass off because _round two_ , fuck _yes_.

"Fuck yes," he screams in JT's ear, and JT's smile is huge and bright and—this is what "sparks joy" means, Tyson thinks dizzily, JT smiling down at him with his whole expression open and happy. He's laughing, they're all laughing, giddy and exhausted and _moving on to round two_ , and all Tyson wants to do is stay here in this moment, tucked under JT's arm with this current of electric happiness running through him, through them.

" _Fuck_ yes," JT says, tone euphoric as he shakes Tyson a little. "Here we go, baby!"

Tyson's a little delirious, shaking the Flames' hands, walking back into the locker room. He feels invincible; he knows it's dangerous, but it's like they can do anything, can roll through whoever they're put up against, no matter what.

He keeps riding that high and tucks himself into JT more and more, on the bus and on the plane home and on the sofa. He ignores the part of himself that wants to reach out to Dante, share the giddy lightness in his chest, because they'd agreed on radio silence throughout the playoffs. It means he just curls into JT more and more, and honestly, it's not like that's a consolation prize, not with how JT's really starting to cling back, to hold Tyson like he's—

Tyson firmly shuts that train of thought down. He's here and they're here and it's enough, it'll be enough, and his heart can just stop asking for more, and it'll all be great.

-0-

Losing sucks; there's no way to deal with it except being blunt about it, in Tyson's opinion. It sucks even harder because of how it happened, a really bad call and Nate going down and them never quite making it click. He wants to keep going, has an itch under his skin that he doesn't know how to scratch, so when Hockey Canada calls, Tyson doesn't hesitate to get on a plane.

Slovakia is nice, he guesses; it's not Denver, which is where he'd like to still have reason to be at this time of year, but it's nice enough. It's even nicer because when he gets to the hotel Dante's there, Dante's giving him the tired smile that only someone who's been knocked out of the playoffs can give, and it's honestly the kind of support Tyson needs right now. He goes for the hug and Dante pulls him in, holds him close, and sighs when Tyson lets himself lean into it.

"Hey," he says quietly. "So it's not the Cup, but let's win a medal, okay?"

"Yeah," Tyson says. He's been trying not to think about the Cup, honestly, about how he'd finally figured out how to score and it hadn't really fucking mattered, about the way JT had crumpled in the locker room, everything about him too bruised and angry to approach. It's not why Tyson had fled but it's part of why he hadn't stayed, knowing JT wouldn't be in a place to let Tyson help him and therefore help himself.

He lets himself melt into the hug a little more; he honestly doesn't give a shit what the rest of Team Canada is going to think about it, him clinging to Dante like a lifeline in the hallway of a hotel half a world away from home. He just lost a playoff series he really thought they'd win, and his best friend on the team needed time to cool off, so now Tyson's getting a hug from his other best friend, and it's—

His heart just hurts a lot these days. It's fine. He's handling it all and it's gonna be fine.

-0-

It's Kacey who gives him the idea, which is what makes him think it's probably a good one. Not that he can't come up with good ideas on his own, because he totally can, but Kacey's got a better track record at it than Tyson does.

"Just invite your boys out, chill with them for a while," she says. "You've got some summer left before you have to start training. Enjoy yourself, Tys."

"When'd you get smarter than me?" Tyson asks, smiling.

"I don't know, probably when I was born," she replies, laughing when he swats at her arm. "You're less mopey when you have one of them on FaceTime. You'll probably be even _less_ mopey if you have someone to actually cuddle."

"I do like cuddling," Tyson says, nodding as seriously as he can manage. "I'll think about it. Thanks, Kace."

She doesn't mock him when he calls JT less than half an hour later, inviting him out, and she pats him on the back when he tells her that he texted Dante about all of them going out to the lake. Everyone agrees pretty easily to the plan of spending some time doing absolutely nothing,  
and Tyson feels better than he has in a long time once JT's flight plans are in his inbox and Dante's got a grocery list to pick up on his way there.

"Hey," he says, knocking on Kacey's door. "Thanks."

"You're welcome," she says, smiling at him. "Go get your man. Men. Whatever."

Tyson makes a face and steps backwards. "It's—that's not—"

She laughs at whatever his face is doing. "It could be," she says. "You're allowed to be happy, y'know? Give yourself a chance."

"No, nope, thanks though," Tyson says, backtracking out of her room and shutting the door.

He can still hear her laughing as he crosses the hall and goes to his own room. 

-0-

Being on the lake is…

This is usually Tyson's time with his boys, and while it's not like this _isn't_ time with his boys, JT isn't Mat and Tyson is abruptly, keenly aware of it when JT flops down on the dock beside him. "Hey," JT says, grinning at him from beneath his sunglasses. "This is nice."

"It is," Tyson agrees, and he's trying not to think about Kacey telling him to _go get his man_ , but JT's smiling at him and it's kind of hard for Tyson to ignore all of the feelings that he's usually so good at locking up, keeping to himself, and—

"Hey," Dante calls, walking down the dock. He stops a few feet away, something carefully blank in his expression. It's weird for Tyson to not be able to get a read on him, but here he is, not having a clue. "Do we want to get the boat out, drive around for a little while?"

Tyson hums. "I dunno," he says. "I kind of want to lay here. Is that lazy?"

"Yes," Dante says immediately, but his expression has cracked open, and he grins down at Tyson. "Whatever. Maybe me and JT can go out and leave you here."

JT snorts, and Tyson turns. "Maybe we should," he says, and now his face is doing something kind of weird, too. "Let Tyson sit here and roast his shoulders, turn into the lobster he's trying to become—"

"Fuck you," Tyson says indignantly, because if anyone here's going to burn it's absolutely JT.

"—and the adults can go talk," JT finishes as if Tyson hadn't even spoken.

Dante raises his eyebrows. "You know he's older than I am, right?"

"Your point?" JT says, shrugging and standing. "Boat. Let's do this thing."

Tyson frowns. "Uh," he says, because he's not exactly getting the friendliest vibe between the two of them. He purposely hasn't been thinking about how it's kind of weird, the way Dante and JT don't really know each other, but it's impossible to ignore right now with the way they're standing a little too far apart for it to be friendly. "I can do boat stuff. Let's all go out."

"Nah, we've got this," Dante says. He's looking at JT, but he glances down to shoot Tyson a grin. "I promise not to drown him."

"Why would you," Tyson starts, but JT snorts.

"And _I_ promise not to drown _him_ ," he says. "C'mon, Fabbs. Let's go out on the boat."

"Yeah, let's," Dante agrees, and they both walk around him and down to the end of the dock, and Tyson is just incredibly confused as he watches them climb into the boat and head out onto the lake, leaving him behind.

-0-

"Hey," someone says, and Tyson slowly opens his eyes, looking up at JT's crooked smile. "You're all burnt."

"Shit," Tyson says, pushing himself up and trying to blink away the groggy feeling in his head. "Time s'it? How long were you guys out for?"

"A while," JT says, glancing over his shoulder. "Dante's tying up the boat. You should get inside and put some aloe on your… uh. Self."

"Damn," Tyson says. He makes a face and regrets it immediately; he really is burned pretty badly, if the way his whole face stings is any indication. "How long is a while?"

JT glances over his shoulder again. "Like," he says. "A few hours, probably? Like three?"

"Three hours," Tyson echoes. He steels himself and sits up slowly; it sucks exactly as much as he thought it would, which is kind of a bummer. Usually he just tans, but apparently sleeping in full sun on a dock for three goddamn hours while his two best friends talked about god only knows what is past what his skin can handle. The more you know or whatever.

"Yeah, it was," JT says. "Uh."

Tyson looks at him blankly, then glances at Dante, and he feels something weird happen in his stomach. Dante's face is pink in the way that means he's full of feelings he doesn't know what to do with, not the way it gets when he's been in the sun too long; it's maybe a weird thing to know about what someone's face is doing, but that's the kind of friendship Tyson and Dante have. He looks back up at JT, who looks mostly amused but a little concerned, which is less difficult to figure out, since it's a lot closer to how his face just… is.

"Uh," Tyson says, probably a beat too late. "Three hours?"

JT's face twitches. "We had stuff to talk about," he says. "Seriously, Tys. Aloe, c'mon."

"Stuff," Tyson says. He knows he's just repeating half of the things JT is saying, but he doesn't really know what else he's supposed to do in the moment, because his brain is contrasting the way Dante and JT had been almost snippy with each other before against how JT's actually using Dante's first name now and the exact way Dante's face is flushed.

"C'mon," JT says, holding his hand out. "I'll get your shoulders."

Tyson lets JT haul him up, glancing back at Dante. He's smiling kind of gently at them, which is… weird, Tyson decides, but now that he's moving around a little he really does need that aloe, so Dante and his faces are going to have to wait.

It's a quiet walk back to the house. Tyson wants to ask what the hell JT and Dante had found to talk about for more than, like, fifteen minutes, but he figures they'll tell him eventually. Dante will, at least, because Dante can't really keep secrets from Tyson; JT can absolutely keep a secret, but if it's important, he'll let Tyson know about it.

Tyson heads for the kitchen as soon as they get into the house. The aloe is on the counter next to the refrigerator; Dante had argued that aloe straight from the refrigerator hurt when you put it on, and Tyson had shrugged and figured he wouldn't have to deal with it, but here he is. He grabs it and pops the top, but JT makes a noise from behind him and reaches out to take the bottle from him.

"Uh," Tyson says, turning to face him. "JT?"

"C'mon," JT says, which doesn't really make any sense, but Tyson turns to face him as JT squirts some aloe into his hands. He reaches out, not meeting Tyson's eyes as he rubs his hand gently over the burned skin on Tyson's shoulder.

"Hey," Tyson hears a moment later, and he jerks his head up as Dante walks in. "Did you—oh."

"Dante," Tyson starts, but Dante still has that weirdly gentle smile on his face. "We, uh."

Dante laughs. "You look like a lobster, bud," he says, walking over to stand beside JT. "Seriously, did you not move at all the whole time we were on the lake?"

"I didn't think you'd be out there for so long!" Tyson says defensively, shrugging JT's hands off. "Speaking of, by the way, what the fuck?"

JT snorts. "I told you. We had some shit to talk about."

"Right," Tyson says. "I wanted you guys to meet because you're, like, two of my favourite people, but the only things you have in common are hockey and me, so—"

"Tys," Dante cuts in, amused, and then he steps forward and leans forward to carefully press a kiss to Tyson's mouth.

"Um," Tyson says when Dante pulls back, because that's pretty much what his brain is doing on repeat. He looks at Dante, who looks like he's half a second away from laughing at him, then looks at JT. "Um?"

"Oh my god," JT mutters, and then he leans in and kisses Tyson, too. "Does that answer your question?"

Tyson flings both arms out to the sides. "No!"

"So, like," Dante says. Tyson turns back to him. "JT and I sort of both thought you were dating the other one?"

"You," Tyson says, blinking, but nope, that is definitely what he heard. "You thought what?"

"You are not even half as dedicated to our snap streak as you are to your one with Dante," JT says.

Tyson gapes a little. "I see you every day, dude."

"And you talk all the time about how great it is living with JT," Dante says.

"It is!" Tyson exclaims. He feels like his heart is beating at a million miles an hour. It's like he's being called out, kind of, all the feelings he's been trying to bury being pointed out one by one, but they'd kissed him, they'd both kissed him, and he doesn't know what he's supposed to do with all of this.

"So we both thought we had to, y'know," JT says, shrugging a little.

Tyson doesn't know, actually, but JT's face isn't giving anything away. He looks at Dante, who is looking anywhere but at Tyson, and that's what makes it click. "Wait," he says, smile starting to spread across his face. "Did you go out on the boat and try to give each other a shovel talk?"

"Maybe," JT says. "Like, somebody had to make sure he knew that if he hurt you—"

"Same," Dante says, and his face is that same shade of emotions pink that it was out on the dock, but he's grinning. "And then we both realised that neither one of us was actually dating you, and…"

Tyson can't help it; he cracks up. It makes his face sting, but it's totally worth it. "Oh my god," he says, delighted. "What did you even _do_?"

JT coughs, and when Tyson turns back, he's blushing. "Well, we…"

Tyson pauses, then starts laughing more. "Oh my god," he repeats. "You totally made out."

"We talked about how we both wanted to make out with you," Dante says, which shuts Tyson up pretty abruptly. "And we talked about how we felt about that, about each other making out with you, and…"

"And then we made out for a little while, yeah," JT fills in. "And, like, we are both up for making out with you, and we agreed that we want to get to know each other a little better before making that decision about each other."

"But, like," Dante says, and Tyson can see him blushing even harder. "That's… definitely not off the table."

"So you both," Tyson says, gesturing at himself. "You do? Really?"

"Assuming we aren't reading this wrong," JT says, shrugging like he's trying to be casual but hasn't really figured out what that means yet. "And if we are—"

"You're not," Tyson says quickly. "Except, like. I don't just want makeout friends."

"Because you're made out of feelings, we know," Dante says, laughing. "Look, it's not like I have a clue here, but the only reason I didn't ask you out is because I thought you were already dating JT."

"And I thought you were dating Dante," JT says. "So we both want to ask you out, and we're both okay with you saying yes to one or both of us, and we're holding out on asking each other out."

"Wow," Tyson says, because it's actually starting to hit him, that Dante kissed him and JT kissed him, that they want to do it again. That the giddy, bubbly feelings he's been telling himself he can't have are actually things that he's being offered. That Dante and JT apparently spent part of their time on the boat making out with each other, which is something he's probably never going to stop thinking about, if he's being honest with himself. "This is real, right? I'm not still sleeping on the dock?"

Dante rolls his eyes and reaches out to poke Tyson's arm. He hisses when it connects, because his sunburned skin twinges. "I think it's a thing that you can't feel pain in dreams, so you tell me."

Tyson grins. "Hey, go out with me," he says, not even trying for casual. "Like, tonight, all three of us, let's go into town and get dinner."

JT laughs. "That was gonna be my line."

"Too bad, I beat you to it," Tyson says. "Is that a yes?"

"That's a yes," JT confirms. "Dante?"

"Hell yeah," Dante says, and Tyson knows what all the emotions-pink is about now, and he thinks he's probably doing something similar with his own face, even if it's hard to tell beneath the sunburn. "Let's do this."

Tyson laughs, looking back and forth between them, letting every feeling he's kept pushed down fill him up now. It's a lot, the way JT smiles at him, the way Dante's whole face brightens with how happy he looks, and Tyson—

Yeah, he thinks. So maybe he does have twice the feelings most people have, but he actually is handling it all just fine.

**Author's Note:**

> -jt and dante are awkward around each other for about nine full seconds, and then they figure out that tyson can handle being the awkward one all on his own, so they figure their shit out and it's a very happy stable triad. \o/
> 
> -i absolutely have marked in the doc where jt and dante decide they're giving each other the shovel talk, in case you were wondering.
> 
> -comments and kudos are always appreciated!


End file.
